LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Sonny Chiba, a Japanese martial arts expert and actor who appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, has died from Covid-19 complications, his agent said on Thursday (Aug 19). He was 82.

"Sonny passed away from Covid-19 yesterday," Timothy Beal told AFP.

"Such tragic news. He was a great friend and an awesome client. Such a humble, caring and friendly man."

Born Sadaho Maeda in 1939 in Fukuoka, in the south-west of Japan, Chiba studied martial arts throughout the 1960s, becoming a particular expert in karate.

His skills landed him numerous roles in Japanese films and television series, including with the influential Toei studio, who recruited him in a competition for new talent.

In the wake of Bruce Lee's worldwide success, Chiba made a name for himself outside Japan as an ultra-violent henchman in The Street Fighter trilogy (1974).

That performance left an impression on a youthful Tarantino, who would later cast him to play samurai-turned-sushi-chef Hattori Hanzo, who forges a sword to help Uma Thurman in her quest for revenge in Kill Bill (2003).

In 2006, Chiba also had a role in The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift.

He was also known in the Chinese-language entertainment industry for starring in The Storm Riders (1998), a martial arts fantasy film which also featured Hong Kong stars Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng, and based on the popular comic series Fung Wan by artist Ma Wing Shing.

Chiba played the villain Lord Conqueror in the movie, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1999.

He also played a yakuza boss in Born To Be King (2000), the sixth and final movie in the Young And Dangerous film series (1996 to 2000) starring Cheng, Jordan Chan and Jerry Lamb.

Beal said Chiba had been due to work on Outbreak Z, a zombie movie starring Wesley Snipes, before the pandemic.